Hello all,

April is here, we’ve launched TBL Spring 2026, and Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is right around the corner. This newsletter is packed with important reminders, details on upcoming events, and more.

Read on to stay informed and engaged!

Counting Down to CIBD 2026

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is fast approaching. We can’t wait to celebrate indie bookstores across the country next Saturday, April 25. Thank you to those actively promoting the campaign.

We’ve designed our CIBD 2025 initiatives to ensure all indies are celebrated. Our Contest for Book Lovers will drive sales to indies, our advertising and public relations efforts will help raise awareness across the country, and our reader-facing promotion—including our Author Love Notes to Indie Bookstores—will reinforce our key message that indies are integral to Canadian culture.

Below are a few reminders as we ramp up campaign promotion.

Check out the member toolkit. It contains digital assets, social media messages, and more to help you promote. You must be logged in to access these resources.
Brush up on our 2026 contest. Contest rules can be found here. The entry form will go live on this page on April 25 and stay up until May 2. We also created an FAQ document to help you field any questions.
Tell us what you’re planning. We will promote unique bookseller activities throughout the week. Fill out this form and be sure to tag @indiebookstoresCA on Facebook and Instagram posts.
Use the correct campaign hashtag (#CIBD2026). This hashtag will help us track engagement from bookstores and customers. It’s very important!

We encourage everyone to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Next week, we'll ramp up posting about bookstore activities, the contest, and more. On the big day, we’ll be live on our social channels to share the love and answer any contest questions.

Let’s do this!

TBL Updates

Nominate now

Indie booksellers are turning up the heat this summer! Please keep those nominations rolling in for TBL Summer 2026.

We welcome all CIBA Bookseller Members to nominate titles for an adult audience published June 30 to August 31, 2026. Titles can be nominated via CataList, NetGalley, and CIBA’s web form. The deadline for nominations is Monday, May 4, 2026.

Need some inspiration? Our friends at the Literary Press Group of Canada have put together a catalogue of titles for your consideration.

Spring has sprung

We released the Spring 2026 List last week, and your customers will love these selections. CIBA Bookseller Members have access to a comprehensive marketing toolkit in the Member Portal, where they will find everything needed to promote the list.

Read our campaign report

We are pleased to present an overview of the first edition of The Booksellers’ List (Fall 2025). This summary provides information on our activities, marketing highlights, stakeholder feedback, and sales stats.

We were thrilled with the impact of our inaugural list and pleased to highlight how the campaign mobilized independent booksellers and demonstrated their role in driving visibility and sales. The report can be accessed in CIBA’s Member Portal using the buttons below.

Share your feedback

Our Winter 2026 campaign has now officially concluded. We look forward to sharing the results in the coming months. CIBA is committed to making sure TBL delivers meaningful value for all involved.

With that in mind, we'd love to know how it went for you! Please share your feedback here to help us shape the future of the program.

Register Now: Upcoming Events

French Book Rush: A 60-Minute Tour of French Power Titles
Tuesday, April 28
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

Ready to energize your French section? Join us for this fast-paced, 60-minute Franco-Canadian showcase created for independent booksellers who want to grow their French-language offerings with confidence and ease. Author and translator Nicholas Aumais will spotlight standout titles for every age group, including clear, compelling, ready-to-use talking points designed to help you hand-sell immediately and connect authentically with French-language readers.

This event is presented by the Franco-Canadian publishers’ group Regroupement des éditions franco-canadiens (REFC).

Discussion Group for Shopify Users: Inventory Management Solutions
Tuesday, May 12
12pm PT, 1 pm MT, 2 pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

Current and prospective Shopify users are invited to come together for peer support and discussion. During this session, we invite booksellers to share how they manage inventory, demonstrate their workflows, and discuss best practices in Shopify in response to the “retirement” of the Stocky app.

CIBA Publisher Picks – Fall Edition
Thursday, May 21: Canadian Indie Publishers (Adult Readers Part 1)
Tuesday, May 26: Canadian Indie Publishers (Adult Readers Part 2)
Thursday, June 11: Multinational Publishers (All Readers)
Thursday, June 25: Canadian Indie Publishers (Children & YA Readers)
3pm PT, 4pm MT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET, 7pm AT, 7:30pm Newfoundland

CIBA’s Publisher Picks will bring you to the heart of publisher marketing discussions to discover the fall season’s best bets from publishers. Register now for all upcoming sessions.

**Sponsored: It Is What It Is by Chantal Patenaude**

Dementia doesn’t take everything at once. It takes it piece by piece. As language begins to slip away, a daughter steps into caregiving, learning to stay connected to her mother as she faces frontotemporal dementia. A memoir of loss, and of what remains, capturing caregiving as both devastating and rewarding.

Perfect for readers navigating dementia, caregiving, or the changing relationship with an aging parent and for readers drawn to emotionally honest memoirs.

Visit chantalpatenaude.com for info. Available through Ingram.

Event Recording for Ask the Bookseller: Optimizing Special Orders & Pre-Orders to Keep Sales Local

A customer walks into your store asking for a title that isn’t currently in stock. What you and your staff do next could make or break the sale. How can you ensure you are meeting your customers’ needs whilst balancing the reality of the supply chain? Do you have a supplier-specific policy to ensure success? What can your store do to build excitement around a hotly anticipated title?

In our recent event, four booksellers discussed their experience, strategies, and solutions for optimizing special orders and pre-orders. Catch the recording of Ask the Bookseller: Optimizing Special Orders & Pre-Orders to Keep Sales Local in the CIBA Member Portal.

Not a CIBA member? Join now to access a range of benefits, including access to live events, recordings, and other business resources.

Advertisement

Scholastic Summer Reading Adventure

CIBA is excited to collaborate with Scholastic Canada once again this summer. This initiative builds on previous activities and is inspired by the statistics showing that kids are most likely to finish books they select themselves.

Booksellers can participate by selecting a minimum of 36 titles from Scholastic's curated summer reading list (available on Bookmanager and Catalist). Eligible orders will receive a comprehensive promotional kit, including signage, reader tracking cards, and customer giveaways. Returnable accounts can receive an extra 3% discount, while non-returnable accounts can request an extra 30 days of dating on their orders. Codes must be entered at the time of ordering to qualify for this promotion.

Scholastic has also prepared campaign assets to support participating accounts (found here). Kits will ship by May 21 in time for a June 1 launch date. In-store promotion of the campaign will run through to August 31.

For more details and promo codes, please review the full campaign overview. Please contact your Scholastic sales representative with questions.

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